Reggae and Jazz Drumming

Shawkillz

Junior Member
I consider myself a metal drummer cause my skills are mainly in double bass, speed, and endurance.

but for the past month i've been wanting to really get into some other styles beside rock, alternative, and metal but i've been stuck because I have no idea where to turn to get nice reggae or jazz chops, will somebody please give me some advice on where to start and where to go from there. not just the nitty gritty basics
 
I consider myself a metal drummer cause my skills are mainly in double bass, speed, and endurance.

but for the past month i've been wanting to really get into some other styles beside rock, alternative, and metal but i've been stuck because I have no idea where to turn to get nice reggae or jazz chops, will somebody please give me some advice on where to start and where to go from there. not just the nitty gritty basics

Moonie and MFB are right and I'd say this as well. If you are thinking in terms of chops you will never understand jazz or reggae. These are styles that aren't defined by chops as such but by feel and musical context. The best way to start to understand them is to listen. There are plenty of suggestions for listening on this forum both for jazz and reggae.
 
I read that too but wasn't going to put my snob hat on. Now you've done that for me...

If you're looking for 'chops' to play Jazz and Reggae then I'm afraid you haven't listened to either style for more than a few minutes. Maybe you put on a Kenny G record and thought that was Jazz? That would explain your misconception there.

My first advice before you even think about picking up a stick is to go and listen to the styles. I know very little about Reggae and I don't know massive amounts about Jazz but what I do know indicates that to really understand what you're doing, you need to listen. There's no excuse these days either because what you need is so easy to find. Others here are more qualified to give you a starting point. Part of the problem of telling us you want to learn about Jazz is that the word leaves a lot open - what do you want to play? Masada-style Klezmer-influenced Jazz? Post-Bop? Swing? Bebop? ECM? Free?
 
yeah, i've heard of the one drop, and the steppers. I know the basic jazz rhythms and practiced them in all kinds of different feels and your right learning these styles probally would be only avalible to those with teachers because of how unavalible they are to the general public. I know both are notorious for their triplett swing feels although they both use straight 8ths, 16ths hell even quarters at times.

Anybody know any good Artists to listen to though, anybody to play along with and learn from?
 
In your case, coming from a 'chops' based style, I think the best way you can dive into jazz is via Buddy Rich. Go watch and listen to as much as you can and then start branching out to other drummers that catch your eye. Transcribe and learn solos, comping passages, and everything you can get your hands on. In my case, when I first started, listening to Buddy Rich, Philly Joe, and Steve Gadd really got me hooked.

Like the other guys have said, jazz and reggae are all groove and feel. By feel, I think we really mean musicality; not playing with different time feels like swing and straight. Musicality is less what you play, and more how/when you play... getting a good sound, comping well, knowing when less is more, and knowing when less is less.
 
yeah, i've heard of the one drop, and the steppers. I know the basic jazz rhythms and practiced them in all kinds of different feels and your right learning these styles probally would be only avalible to those with teachers because of how unavalible they are to the general public. I know both are notorious for their triplett swing feels although they both use straight 8ths, 16ths hell even quarters at times.

Anybody know any good Artists to listen to though, anybody to play along with and learn from?


unfortunately playing jazz is not about chops its about having big ears and listening to the musicians you are playing with ....its about understanding forms and chord progressions..........and feeling your quarter note so deeply that you can use your vocabulary to dance around it and disguise it as anything you wish

its also about building that vocabulary .....for which I would recommend any DVD and book written by John Riley
 
Start by getting some reggae and jazz records and listening to them- the "chops" are meaningless without the music. Here are a few suggestions:

Reggae:
Anything from the 70's with Sly Dunbar or Carlton Barrett. Equal Rights by Peter Tosh or Aux Armes Et Caetera by Serge Gainsbourg are good.

Jazz:
Coltrane by John Coltrane
Unity by Larry Young
A Night In Tunisia by Art Blakey
Ask The Ages by Sonny Sharrock
Night Passage by Weather Report
 
Start by getting some reggae and jazz records and listening to them- the "chops" are meaningless without the music. Here are a few suggestions:

Reggae:
Anything from the 70's with Sly Dunbar or Carlton Barrett. Equal Rights by Peter Tosh or Aux Armes Et Caetera by Serge Gainsbourg are good.

Jazz:
Coltrane by John Coltrane
Unity by Larry Young
A Night In Tunisia by Art Blakey
Ask The Ages by Sonny Sharrock
Night Passage by Weather Report


for jazz listening I would add

McCoy Tyner - the Real McCoy - Elvin Jones on drums
McCoy Tyner Trio - Reaching Fourth - Roy Haynes on drums
Miles Davis - Milestones - Philly Joe in drums
Art Pepper - Eleven - Mel Lewis drums
Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk - obvioulsy Art on drums
Thelonious Monk Quartet - Monks Dream - Frankie Dunlop drums
Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um - Dannie Richmond on drums


some of my favorite performances and where I pull inspiration from
 
REGGAE!!! LOVE IT! listen to Peter Tosh (particularly the album "Legalize It"), get Bob Marley's "Babylon by Bus" live album...so sick, get "The 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Steel Pulse" (their greatest hits). basically, take the 2 and 4 and put it on the bass drum, as opposed to the 2 and 4 on the snare. then take embellish around the downbeat with cross-stickings on your snare hoop. throw in some dotted 8ths and triplets on the hats, and you got yourself some reggae drumming (you'll hear what i mean when you get some of that music).
 
Hey man,

I've been trying to work my way through on reggae and I found, for me, that working on a half time shuffle really helped me get a basic "feel" for the loping rhythm that reggae can have. So a half time shuffle is another good thing to work on as well!

Also, watch this video a million times

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lNi9ZKO_0g
 
Hey man,

I've been trying to work my way through on reggae and I found, for me, that working on a half time shuffle really helped me get a basic "feel" for the loping rhythm that reggae can have. So a half time shuffle is another good thing to work on as well!

Yes, in fact, you should check out some ska music too. I got a couple good ska compilations, Ska's the Limit and Ska Island. Just to edify your comment check out this little gem from Laurel Aitken.
 

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I'm speechless.

why speechless?

if you think playing jazz is about chops you obviously know absolutely nothing about the style and dont play it......

at least I hope you dont play it and think its about chops.......that would make you grossly misinformed and an absolute nightmare to play with

period
 
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